Italy v Northern Ireland Betting Preview World Cup Playoff

When is Italy v Northern Ireland?
Thursday, 26 March 2026.

What time is kick-off for Italy v Northern Ireland?
7:45pm, UK time.

Where is Italy v Northern Ireland being played?
Stadio di Bergamo, Bergamo

How can I watch Italy v Northern Ireland?
Live on BBC3.

Italy v Northern Ireland Betting Form

Despite a team full of top talent, Italy could only manage a second-placed finish in their qualifying group, meaning the Azzurri will have to face the playoffs to reach the 2026 World Cup. Having failed to qualify for the last two tournaments, Italy fans will be desperate to see their team come through these playoffs. Up first is a home semi-final against Northern Ireland, a side they have lost to just once in the nation’s history. Can they qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2014?

ITALY FORM

LOSS: Italy 1-4 Norway, 16 November 2025
WIN: Moldova 0-2 Italy, 13 November 2025
WIN: Italy 3-0 Israel, 14 October 2025

Northern Ireland are aiming to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. Michael O’Neill’s side struggled in their qualifying group, finishing third behind Germany and Slovakia after losing three of their six group games. However, a first-placed finish in their Nations League group, Northern Ireland have a chance to qualify through the playoffs. Their opponents will be footballing giants Italy, a side Northern Ireland haven’t beaten in over half a century. Can they cause an upset?

NORTHERN IRELAND FORM

WIN: Northern Ireland 1-0 Luxembourg, November 2025
LOSS: Slovakia 1-0 Northern Ireland,14 November 2025
LOSS: Northern Ireland 0-1 Germany, 13 October 2025

To see all the Italy v Northern Ireland betting stats and form, visit our pricing page to view our Pre-Match betting stats table or hover over/tap the chart image to see previous outcomes for that particular market.

See our latest Italy v Northern Ireland Betting prices here, or via the link below.

WHAT ARE THE BEST ODDS ON ITALY V NORTHERN IRELAND?

Italy are looking to make amends after a World Cup drought over the last decade, and will come into this match as clear favourites. You can back the hosts to win the tie at 2/7, or at 1/4 in our 2 Up market which pays out if your team goes up by two goals during the match.

Northern Ireland will be the underdogs after struggling in their qualifying group. You can back the visitors to win and go through to the playoff final at 11/1, or at 9/1 in our 2 Up market. If you expect the sides to be level after 90 minutes, you can back the draw at 4/1.

See our latest Italy v Northern Ireland fixed odds betting prices here.

ITALY V NORTHERN IRELAND FOOTBALL SPREAD BETTING PRICES

We also offer a number of spread betting markets for Thursday’s clash, including our “Goal Supremacy” market. This market currently has Italy favoured by 1.55-1.75 goals. This means that if you placed a “buy” bet, you would need Italy to win by at least two goals to start turning a profit, and if you sold, you would need Northern Ireland to win or draw, or Italy to only win by one goal. If you bought, a two-goal victory for Italy would win you 0.25 times your stake, a three-goal victory 1.25 times your stake, and so on.

However, if you bought and Italy lost or drew the game, you would lose money. Here, a one-goal loss would cost you 2.75 times your stake, a two-goal loss 3.75 times your stake, etc. 

You can also bet on the total number of goals scored during the game with our Total Goals market. This is currently set at 2.8-2.3. If you’re expecting plenty of goalmouth action, you would “buy” and would need at least four total goals to turn a profit. Alternatively, if you expect a low-scoring affair, you could “sell” and would need two goals or fewer to turn a profit.

If you sold and the game ended 1-0, you would win 1.8 times your stake. However, if you sold and the game ended 4-2 you would lose 3.2 times your stake. It’s important to remember that when spread betting, if your bet loses, you can lose multiples of your stake, so be sure to choose appropriate stake sizes for each market.

See our latest Italy v Northern Ireland spread betting prices here.

ITALY V NORTHERN IRELAND SPECIALS AND PRICE BOOSTS

Price Boosts will be available on the Spreadex website and app closer to kick-off time. We also have a collection of popular bet-builders assembled by our pricing team available now. You can back Italy to win and to be winning at half-time at 11/1. You can also back Northern Ireland to win and for both teams to score at 12/1.

Learn how to spread bet on Italy v Northern Ireland

Spreadex is one of the only sportsbooks in the UK to offer Sports Spread Betting as well as traditional fixed odds prices. Some of the unique betting markets available include Player Goal Minutes (the aggregate minutes of the goals scored by a named player in a match), Total Goal Minutes (the aggregate of the minutes of all goals scored in a match), Shirt Numbers (the aggregate of the shirt numbers of all goalscorers in a match), Bookings Points (based on 10 points per yellow, 25 per red), Corners, Time of 1st Match Goal, Match Performance and many, many more.

See our football spread betting education centre to see examples of how spread betting works, watch short explainer videos, and try interactive betting widgets to see how win or loss levels work on different bets.

Visit our football spread betting education area here.

Please note that this preview is not designed to offer any betting advice or suggestions. All prices quoted correct as of 12pm on 23 March 2026. Price Boosts and other markets will be added closer to kick-off time.